The focus of this work is on systematically understanding the effects of packing density of the sand grains on both the internal and bulk mechanical properties for strip footing interacting with granular soil. The studies are based on particle image velocimetry (PIV) method, coupled with a high resolution imaging camera. This provides valuable new insights on the evolution of slip planes at grain-scale under different fractions of the ultimate load. Furthermore, the PIV based results are compared with finite element method simulations in which the experimentally characterised parameters and constitutive behaviour are fed as an input, and a good level of agreements are obtained. The reported results would serve to the practicing engineers, researchers and graduate students in unravelling the mechanics of granular soil at both local and global levels when they interact with structures. The outcomes would be beneficial not only to the geotechnical engineering community, but also to related disciplines dealing with granular materials such as materials processing, minerals and space exploration. © 2018, Indian Geotechnical Society.
Sensibly highlighting the hidden structures of many real-world networks has attracted growing interest and triggered a vast array of techniques on what is called nowadays community detection (CD) problem. Non-deterministic metaheuristics are proved to competitively transcending the limits of the counterpart deterministic heuristics in solving community detection problem. Despite the increasing interest, most of the existing metaheuristic based community detection (MCD) algorithms reflect one traditional language. Generally, they tend to explicitly project some features of real communities into different definitions of single or multi-objective optimization functions. The design of other operators, however, remains canonical lacking any inte
... Show MoreAn experimental and theoretical works were carried out to model the wire condenser in the domestic refrigerator by calculating the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop and finding the optimum performance. The two methods were used for calculation, zone method, and an integral method. The work was conducted by using two wire condensers with equal length but different in tube diameters, two refrigerants, R-134a and R-600a, and two different compressors matching the refrigerant type. In the experimental work, the optimum charge was found for the refrigerator according to ASHRAE recommendation. Then, the tests were done at 32˚C ambient temperature in a closed room with dimension (2m*2m*3m). The results showed that th
... Show MoreWhile conservative access preparations could increase fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth, it may influence the shape of the prepared root canal. The aim of this study was to compare the prepared canal transportation and centering ability after continuous rotation or reciprocation instrumentation in teeth accessed through traditional or conservative endodontic cavities by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).
Forty extracted intact, matured, and 2-rooted human maxillary first premolars were selected for this
Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are the two most important types of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Functional iron deficiency in ACD can be attributed to overexpression of the main iron regulatory hormone hepcidin leading to diversion of iron from the circulation into storage sites resulting in iron-restricted erythropoiesis. The aim is to investigate the role of circulating hepcidin and to uncover the frequency of IDA in RA. The study included 51 patients with RA. Complete blood counts, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, ferritin, and hepcidin- 25 were assessed. ACD was found in 37.3% of patients, IDA in 11.8%, and combined (ACD/IDA) in 17.6%. Serum hepcidin was higher in ACD than in con
... Show MoreRefrigerant R134a has been widely utilized in automotive air conditioning systems (AACSs); R134a has a high global warming potential (GWP) of 1430 despite having zero ozone depletion potential (ODP). Coming refrigeration systems must include refrigerants with low GWP and zero ODP. The aim of this experimental study is to evaluate the thermal performance of an (AAC) with different values of compressor speeds, i.e., (1000, 1700, and 2400 rpm) and two thermal loads, i.e., (500 and 1000 Watt) with the absence and presence of liquid suction heat exchanger (LSHX) using R134a. The results showed that adding LSHX enhanced the COP cycle by 7.18%, 10.7%, and 3.09% for the first, second, and third speed, respectively, at 500 Watt, while the en
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